The idea of a fly being a central character in a movie is fascinating, and we have seen it in the SS Rajamouli film back in 2012. The latest Malayalam film, Lovely, directed by writer-turned-director Dileesh Karunakaran, is an attempt to enter a similar space. However, the problem is that the movie is somewhat clueless about the conflict it should have. Because of a lack of solid reason that can cause this transition in our hero, the film feels like a stretched-out thin entertainer that struggles to engage the viewer.
Boney Baby, a young man who aspires to go to Canada, is our main guy. He gets a dying harness appointment in the electricity department, and long story short, he gets involved in a case and gets remanded. In that jail, he happens to meet a fly who could talk to him. How Boney’s life changes after this friendship with this fly whom he names Lovely is what we see in this fantasy entertainer.
Maybe to avoid all the possibilities of us questioning the logic of a lot of things, Dileesh Karunakaran puts this disclaimer at the beginning that you are about to enter the dream of some person. However, the issue with the movie is actually not in the logic part. Towards the end of the second act of the film, we see a drastic change in the behavior of Boney, and he is entirely a different person. In order to make that shift believable, the script should have either presented him as someone who needed emotional support, or there should have been a longer time spent together between Boney and Lovely. Because of the swift nature of the Hi-Heyy relationship between the two, the emotional changes we see in characters don’t allow us to root for them.
Dileesh Karunakaran, who has previously co-written many films like Salt-n-Pepper and Mayaanadhi, is trying to explore less ventured territory with this film. His first film, Tamaar Padaar, was also a risky film. Dileesh is trying to build subplots and stuff that will eventually contribute to the main track. For instance, when you look at the magistrate track featuring Manoj K Jayan, there is this snowball effect of happiness. But because of the silliness of the case, this much time given to a mere subplot just doesn’t make sense. This subplot and another one featuring Boney’s senior in office all felt like unnecessarily stretched scenes just for the sake of having a conventional run time. If they had reduced the runtime of those tracks and given more time to Boney and Lovely, the second-half drama would have felt more emotional.
This movie was shot before Rifle Club, technically making it the first movie Aashiq Abu did the cinematography. He uses these soft focus visuals with a warm tone and red accents to give it that lucid dream feel. The visual effects of the housefly are fairly good. I mean, the extremely clean skin texture of the housefly is definitely not making us forget that all these are visual effects. The world-building in some of the song sequences was really good. The 3D factor is not really enhancing the experience, as the percentage of visuals that require the 3D effect is less.
Mathew Thomas as Boney is able to convey the emotions of the character neatly on screen. From being this chilled-out guy in the earlier parts of the movie to becoming this obsessed person, his depiction of the character is effective. But like I said, the script isn’t giving him time for that transition. Sivaangi Krishnakumar has given the voice to Lovely. When I saw the trailer, I had a feeling that Sivaangi might overdo it, but luckily, in the film, the meter is at a bearable level. And with a mix of English and Malayalam, Dileesh Karunakaran manages to reduce the possible cringe in this platonic relationship. Kumbalangi Nights’ fame, Ashlin Joseph gets a memorable character in the movie. Other major names in the cast include Prashant Murali, Aswathy Manoharan, Manoj K Jayan, Baburaj, Arun Pradeep, Joemon Jyothir, and Ganga Meera.
In totality, Lovely feels more like an idea that remained at the ideation level for far too long. More than the technical glory of creating a visual-effects heavy 3D film, what the audience wants to experience is a story where they can root for the characters. I guess the lack of investment in building a solid relationship between the protagonists makes this movie a drag despite having an under-two-hour runtime.
